Station-indicator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. B. CRANE. STATION INDICATOR.

N0. 430,117. I Patented June 17, 1890.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. B. CRANE. STATION INDIGATOR.

No. 430,117. Patented June 17,1890.

06L; Cju/ (gala/ovum; c/rcuxa UNITED STATES ATENT rrrcE.

STATION-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,117, dated June 17, 1890.

Application filed April 13 1889.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, SYLVANUS B. CRANE, of Oxford Junction, in the county of Jones and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Station-Indicator and Advertising-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a device for indicating to railroad or street-car passengers the names of stations or streets on the line of road as the car approaches them, and at the same time, if desired, to display advertising-cards. The invention consists of a box or case containing parallel rollers, over one set of which is rolled an index-strip having the names of stations or streets thereon, while on the other set of rollers is a strip with advertisements thereon, all of which are exhibited in proper succession through the front of the box as the said rollers are revolved; and it consists, further, of a novel combination of cog and gear wheels, which are operated at intervals by a trip placed alongside of the track, which engages the flange of the wheel and raises an engaging eccentricallyweighted bar vertically, which partially rotates a shaft provided with beveled gearing, and also of tension devices, all of which will hereinafter be described. It is designed that this machine shall be located in a prominent position in a car. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with the frame-bars and supports removed to better illustrate the mechanism. Fig. 3 is a side view of two of the gear-Wheels used for revolving the rollers carrying the advertisingstrip. Fig. 4: is a side View of the brake used against the end of the larger rollers. Fig. 5 is an end view of a car-wheel, a portion of its axle, .the rail, and the device for actuating the mechanism. Figs. 6 and 7 are details of said actuating device. Fig. 8 is a detail View in perspective of certain parts of my device.

Similar letters and figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A rectangular inclosing-box A, provided with a glass front, is attached to the interior of the car, usually at the end of the same.

Vertical bars B, O, and D, which I prefer to construct of metal, are secured edgewise within the interior of the box parallel to each other, the bars B and 0 being placed sufliciently apart to accommodate between them the rollersand gearing, hereinafter described, and bars 0 and D sufficientl y apart to accom modate between them gearing, hereinafter described,.and space being left between the bar D and the side of the box to also accommodate between them gearing, hereinafter described.

The rollers 8, 9, 10, and 11 are secured through their respective shafts in suitable perforations through the barsB and C, so they may be respectively rotated. The rollers 8 and 9.are set one above the other, parallel and in vertical line, the roller 8 being near the top of the box and roller 9 located about centrally therein. Roller 10 is set between rollers- 8 and 9, and roller 11 is set near the bottom of the box, both being parallel and in vertical line to each other, the center of each being slightly in front of the center of rollers 8 and 9. Rollers 8 and 9 are of like diameter, and rollers 10 and 11 are of similar diameter and somewhat larger than the diameter of rollers 8 and 9. The shaft of the roller 8 also extends as an actuating-shaft through perforations in bar D and the side of the box and through the side of the car, as will hereinafter be more fully explained. The shafts of rollers 9, 10, and 11 are also extended in suitable perforations through barD. The shafts of rollers 8 and 9 are each provided between their respective rollers and the bar D with beveled gear-wheels 12 and 13, having teeth on the inner face, and pinions 14 and 15 en gage and mesh with the teeth of said gearwheels, which pinions are attached at the respective ends of the vertical shaft 16, which is supported in the brackets 17 and 18, secured to said bar 0.

At the ends of shafts of rollers 10 and 11 and adjoining bar D are beveled gear-wheels 19 and 20, having teeth on their outer face, and pinions 21 and 22 engage and mesh with the teeth on said gear-wheels, which pinions are attached to the respective ends of the vertical shaft 23, which is supported in the brackets 24 and 25, secured to the bar D. On shaft of roller 10, between bars 0 and D, is

ICO

V trated in Fig. 3.

attached a cog-wheel 27, which is more plainly illustrated in Fig. 3. In said cog-wheel 27 one of the cogs is omitted and such space provided with a concaved periphery, as at 28, and a cylindrical projection 29 provided at one side, making a plain-surfaced wheel at the side of said cogs, except the cog 30 in the periphery of such cylindrical projection opposite to the center of the concaved surface 28.

Midway between the shafts of rollers 8 and is a short horizontal shaft 26, loosely journaled in perforations through bars 0 and D, and between such bars on said shaft is the wheel 31, which is also more plainly illus- Wheel 31 has its periphery widened by the addition of a rim 32 on the same side as the cylindrical projection on cog wheel 27 which widened part extends a portion of the distance of the circumference of said wheel and may be extended a greater or less distance, as desired. The widened part of the periphery of said wheel is crosswise slotted,forming cogs which engage and mesh with the cogs andcog of cog-wheel 27, and the object of the widened portion is so the cogs of said wheel may engage said cog or pin 30. The object of the concaved surface 28 in cog-wheel 27 is so that the plain surface of Wheel 31 may, when rotating therein, not rotate said cog-wheel.

On the end of shaft 26, in the space between bar D and the side of the box, is attached a cog-wheel 59, and in line vertically above it on shaft of roller 8 is the cog-wheel 33, which engages and meshes with cog-wheel 59. The shaft of roller 8 extends through the box and side or end of the car, thus constituting it the actuating-shaft, and attached to such outer end is a beveled gear-wheel 34, the teeth being on its outer face. A vertical shaft 35 is attached by hangers, which are not shown in the drawings, to the outer side or end of the car, and to its upper end is attached apinion 36, which engages and meshes with gear-wheel 34. The bottom of said shaft extends near to the surface of the road-bed and outside of the rail. A sleeve 37, having four radially-extending arms 38 at right angles to each other, is passed over the bottom end of shaft 35 and secured thereto by a pin through the slot 39 in said sleeve. Such slot permits the sleeve to move upward on the shaft in case of the cars being thrown from the rails, rendering breakage less liable. A trip-bar 40 is passed horizontally through a perforation crosswise in the rail beneath its tread and secured loosely in the journals of boxes 41 and 42, and which are secured to the tie by spikes or screws. The trip-bar is pro vided with a crank-arm 43, which is located next to the inner side of the rail, so that the flange 44 of the car-wheel 45 will turn such crank from an upright or vertical position downward in passing over it. Outside of the rail the trip-bar is provided with two engaging eccentrically-weighted bars 46 and 47, which fall fiat by their own gravity when not supported, and each bar is provided with shoulders 48 at their respective ends, which are perforated, and through which perforations they are hinged to the trip-bar, so that the inner ends of said bars 46 and 47 are side by side, but extend in opposite directions and at right angles to said trip-bar, and when not in operation lie flat upon the tie or road-bed, while the crank-arm of the trip-bar, when not in operation, is in an upright or vertical position. Each of the shoulders 48 is provided with transverse slots 49, through which pins 50 are secured in the trip-bar 40. The rotation of the trip-bar by the flange of the wheel turning down the crank-arm raises to a vertical position one of the bars 46 or 47, which lies in an opposite direction to the direction in which the crank-arm is turned down, and the radial arm 38, which extends inward in a direction crosswise of the track, comes in contact with such bar when in such Vertical position and is turned rearward in a line parallel with the rail, or a one-quarter turn, which likewise rotates the vertical shaft 35 one-quarter and the pinion 36 and the beveled gear-wheel 34, which partially rotates the roller 8, and through the beveled gear-wheels 12 and 13 and pinions 14 and 15 and vertical shaft 16 the roller 9 is similarly partially rotated. The partial rotation also thus caused to cog-wheel 33 on the shaft of roller 8 causes like partial rotation to the cog-wheel 59 and its shaft 26 and the wheel 31, the plain exterior surface of which rotates in concaved surface 28 of cog-wheel 27 without rotatingit. When, however, the wheel 31 has rotated sufficiently to bring its rim 32 in contact with cog 30 of cogwheel 27, this last cog-wheel is thereby rotated sufiiciently to bring its cogs in engagement with the cogs upon wheel 31, and thereby rotate said cog-wheel 27, and its shaft and roller 10 are rotated, and through the beveled gear wheels 19 and 20 and pinions 21 and 22 and vertical shaft 23 the roller 11 is similarly rotated. When the car is moved in one direction, the direction of rotation of the rollers 8, 9, 10, and 11 collectively is in a common direction; but when the car travels in an opposite direction the rotation of such rollers is also collectively changed in an opposite direction. The mechanism thus described constitutes the driving or motivepart, and the further mechanism of my machine is as follows:

51, 52, 53, and 54 are horizontal tensionrollers loosely journaled in the bars B and O. The tension-rollers 51 and 52 are journaled near the front edge of said bars and in a line substantially horizontal with the top downward through its arms. The tensionroller 54 is jonrnaled near the front edge of bars B and O and substantially on a line horizontal with the top of roller 10. Another tension-roller 57 is journaled in the ends of ,two arms'58, the opposite ends of which are attached near the rear edge of the respective bars B and (J on a line slightly below the center of roller 11 by pins, thus locating such tension-roller 57 near the front edge of bars B and O, and which tension-roller may be swung upward and downward through its arms.

E is an index-strip of paper or other flexible material containing the names in succession of the streets or stations along the line of the road, the respective ends of which are secured to the rollers 8 and 9, passing off from roller 8 on its upper surface forward over the upper surface of tension-roller 51, downward around the lower surface of tension-roller 52, rearward around the upper surface of tension-roller 53, downward around the lower surface of tension-roller 55, and forward around the under surface of roller 9.

F is an index-strip of paper or other flexible material containing. the advertisements and has an end secured to each roller 10 and 11, passing off from roller 10 on its upper surface forward over the upper surface of tension-roller 54, downward around the lower surface of tension-roller 57, and rearward around the lower surface of roller 11. Shaft G and a similar shaft H (not shown) are loosely journaled horizontally in perforations through bars 0 and D, shaft G being opposite to roller 10, and shaft H opposite to roller 11, the ends of such shafts adjacent to said rollers each being slotted to accommodate therein the wheels g, which are bound with rubber or other flexible material, and which are secured in said slots through the axis h of such wheel in perforations crosswise of the slotted portions of shafts G and H. A spiral spring '5 is placed around each of said shafts between the bars 0 and D, one end of the spring having its bearing against the bar D and the other end of the spring having its bearing against the pin j on said shafts G and H. This spring forces the wheels 9 against the ends of the respective rollers 10 and 11, retarding the rotation somewhat of said rollers.

In the construction of my machine the rollers and gearing should be properly proportioned, the index-strips lettered at proper distances, and the trip-bar located at the proper distances, so as to work harmoniously, which can be readily accomplished by a skilled mechanic. As a car passes a street or station, the trip-bar should be so located as to cause the street or station index-strip through the mechanism already described to move the required distance to display the name of the next street or station to be reached by the car, and also to cause the advertisement index-strip to move the required distance after passing a given number of streets or stations to display a new advertisement. In the mechanism here described the advertising indexstrip displays a new advertisement for-displaying advertisements, as my inven-v tion relates more directly to mechanism which automatically and at fixed distances along the line of road operates mechanism which is arranged to indicate approaching streets or stations and for displaying advertisements, and further relates to specific mechanism arranged to rotate rollers, upon which are index-strips for indicating streets and stations or displaying advertisements, or both.

.W'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a station-indicator and advertisingmachine attached to a street or railway car supported upon flanged wheels traveling upon rails, the combination, with two sets of rollers and their shafts supported in a frame, auxiliary tension-rollers, and two index-strips, one for each set of rollers, and one displaying in succession the names of streets or stations on the line, the other displaying in succession advertising announcements, the flange of the car-wheel, and rail, of the beveled cog-wheel on each of the shafts of the street or station rollers engaging with pinions on a supported rotating shaft, the beveled cog-wheel on each of the shafts of the advertisement-displaying rollers engaging with pinions on a supported rotating shaft, the shaft of one of the street or station indicating rollers extended as an actuating-shaft meshing with the cogwheel attached to a shaft supported in the frame, such shaft provided with a wheel having its periphery widened by the addition of a rim at one side, such widened part extending a portion of the distanceof the circumference of said wheel and crosswise slotted, forming cogs, the cog-wheel meshing there with attached to the shaft of one of said advertisement-displaying rollers, having one cog omitted and such space provided with a concaved periphery, such cog-wheel having a cylindrical projection upon one of its sides and a cog-wheel in the periphery of such cylindrical projection opposite to the center of said concaved surface, the beveled cog-wheel attached to the outside end of the actuatingshaft, the vertical rotating pinion-shaft engaging therewith, supported on the exterior of the car, its lower end provided with radial extending arms, the trip-bar secured to the road-bed, provided with the crank-arm adja- IIO cent to the inner side of the rail, and the engaging-bars on the outer side of the rail, substantially as described.

2. In a station-indicator and advertisingmachine attached to a street or railway car, the combination, with the frame of the machine, a set of rollers and their shafts supported in said frame, auxiliary tension-rollers, an index-strip for displayin gin succession advertising announcements, the flange of the carwheels, and the rails, of the beveled cog-wheel 011 each of the shafts of the advertisementdisplaying rollers, engaging with a pinionsupported rotating shaft, the actuating rotating shaft extended from the interior to the outside of the car, the cog-wheel attached to such actuating-shaft, meshing with a cogwheel attached to a shaft supported in the frame of the machine, such shaft provided with a wheel having its periphery widened by the addition of a rim at one side, such widened part extending a portion of the distance of the circumference of said wheel and crosswise slotted, forming cogs, the cog-wheel meshing therewith attached to the shaft of one of said advertisement-displaying rollers, having one cog omitted and such space provided with a concaved periphery, such cogwheel having a cylindrical projection upon one of its sides and a cog in the periphery of such cylindrical projection opposite to the center of said concaved surface, the beveled cog-wheel attached to the outside end of the actuating-shaft, the vertical rotating pinionshaft engaging therewith, supported on the exterior of the car, its lower end provided with radial extending arms, the trip-bar secured to the road-bed, provided with the crank-arm adjacent to the inner side of the rail, and the engaging-bars on the outer side of the rail, substantially as described.

3. In a station-indicator and advertisingmachine attached to a street or railway car, the combination, with the frame of the machine, a set of rollers and their shafts supported in said frame, auxiliary tension-rollers, an index-strip for displaying in succession announcements, the flange of the car-wheels, and the rails, of the shaft of one of said rollers extended as an actuating-shaft outside of the car, the beveled cog-wheel attached to each shaft of said rollers, engaging with pinions on a supported rotating shaft, the beveled cog-wheel attached to the outside end of the actuating-shaft, the vertical rotating pinion-shaft engaging therewith, supported on the exterior of the car, its lower end provided with radial extending arms,the trip-bar secured to the road-bed, provided with the crank-arm adjacent to the inner side of the rail, and the engaging-bars on the outer side of the rail, substantially as described.

4. The combination,with a station-indicator and advertising-machine attached to a street or railway car, the flange of the car-wheels, the rails, and a trip-bar secured to the roadbed and provided with a crank-arm adjacent to the inner side of the rail, of such trip-bar extended through the rail beneath its tread, having two engaging eccentrically-weighted bars hinged at one end thereto and on the outer side of the rail, each of said hinged portions of said bars transversely slotted, a pin passing through each of said slots, and each pin attached to said trip-bar, and a shaft attached to the exterior of said car, provided at its lower end at a distance from the road-bed less than the length of said engaging-bars when in a vertical position with radial extendin g arms at right angles to each other, the center of such shaft not on a line with said engaging-arms when in a vertical position, but such arms when extended inward within line of such engaging-arms when in a vertical po- 

